President Trump announces tariffs on steel and aluminum

President Donald Trump finalized his plan on March 8 to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, with provisional exceptions for Canada and Mexico.

The move, which came just weeks after the plan was recommended by the Department of Commerce, triggered a fierce lobbying effort to shape or stall the planned tariffs.

Slated to go into effect 15 days following the plan’s announcement on March 8, the tariffs were not warmly received by many Capitol Hill Republicans, including Speaker Paul Ryan who warned of “unintended consequences.”

Congress has the authority to take action and nullify the new tariffs, but it is unclear if such action will be taken.

The tariffs are likely to boost domestic steel demand, as imports will become more expensive, which could increase the price of steel and the cost of doing business for water well systems professionals.

Steve Warren, president/CEO of Asbury Machine/Throop Rock Bit in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, said on March 8 he was unsure of the potential impact to the water well industry due to not having data to analyze. However, Warren noted he had already seen immediate price increases in steel products from the company’s suppliers based on the expectation of the tariffs being finalized.

“We here at TRB have always promoted American manufacturing and do purchase American steel for our uses,” Warren says, “so we do understand the need to promote and protect the American steel industry. I’m sure we can all agree on that whether this is the way to go about it or not, we don’t know, only time will tell.”